The Wall: Growing Up Behind
the Iron Curtain
by Peter Sis
The Wall by Peter Sis is a spectacular, highly illustrated auto-biographical story of what it was
like to grow up under Soviet rule behind the Iron Curtain in
Czechoslovakia. Created in an almost graphic novel style, Sis makes the
period come alive through his own personal experiences and
observations.
We can't say enough good things about this book. The Wall makes
this period come alive through Sis's own personal experiences.
This
book will appeal to older students who will be able to grasp the deeper
layers of meaning and appreciate "the passionate, youthful rebellions
against authority." (Booklist)
This book would definitely NOT work as a read aloud, but is guaranteed to
wow solo readers. But put it in your class library or recommend it
to your kids so they can POUR over each detailed
illustration. This book makes for a mesmerizing read any
time of the year, this book would be ideal for supplementing units of
20th century world history, particularly when teaching about the Cold
War era.
Interest Level: Grade 3+ DRA Level: 60 Lexile Measure: 760L
Grade Equivalent: 4.5 Guided Reading: Y
Awards Won by this book:
* Caldecott Honor--
2008
* American Library Association Notable Children's Book 2008
* American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults 2008
* National Council of Teachers of English Notable Children's Book 2008
* Boston Globe-Horn Book Award & Fanfare Award
* National Council for Social Studies Notable Social Studies Book 2008
* New
York Times Best Illustrated Book 2007
* American Library Association Sibert Informational Book Award 2008
See Inside The Wall by Peter Sis
Below are selected
illustrations from inside The Wall, showing the intense
interest that young people behind the Iron Curtain had for
western/American music, fashion, and culture.
In this first illustration of a house, people are secretly engaging in western culture and
expressive works (ie: painting) in the privacy of their own homes -- plus one resident is spying on the other residents.
The below to illustrations are part of a larger spread that shows
young people painting colorful peace murals which continually get
painted over by the authorities.
And lastly, below is a
visualization of the colorful, youthful dreams of the author and his friends who
formed underground bands, listened to Western music, and wore western
clothes...often a great risk!
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Lesson Idea:
Postcards
from Behind the Wall
In
the book, the author signs up for pen pals through a London magazine
and gets many letters from prospective pen pals. Using our postcard
handout (located here), have the
students pretend to be the author of this book and send postcards to
these new pen pals describing the circumstances of his life/his country
and his feelings about the situation in general (which changes over
time
in the book.)
We have provided four 'postcards' to use---and even put Soviet era stamps on them. :) You could have the students write more postcards or fewer postcards, and/or could have them cut them out and draw something relevant on the front (like real postcards), all depending on the time available
This
activity will check that students read and understood the book,
as long as you have them:
-choose different periods of the author's life and write
the year or his age at the top of the card
-describe at least 3 key events in the
country/Soviet region on each card
-describe how he feels about what is happening on each card
This is a great book, but if it's not exactly the book you are looking for, you can see:
